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RedditOne day before the Iowa caucuses, John Edwards has become the first major presidential candidate to favor withdrawing all American troops, including advisers, from Iraq, doing so in response to queries from a leading military correspondent, Michael Gordon, of the New York Times.
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Maliki's Obama Endorsement
Tom Hayden: In a huge setback for John McCain and the Bush Administration, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki endorses Barack Obama's timeline for withdrawal--and the presumptive Democratic nominee could reap a windfall.
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Obama, Iraq and Afghanistan
Tom Hayden: Obama's plan to de-escalate the war in Iraq only to ramp up another in Afghanistan just might work. It could also entrap the US in an even wider quagmire.
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Pentagon Fights Peace Majorities in US and Iraq
Tom Hayden: The electorates in both countries are threatening to topple the principal warmakers at the ballot box.
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Barack at Risk
Tom Hayden: Barack Obama could put his entire candidacy at risk if his audacity on the war in Iraq continues to shrivel.
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Meet the New Dr. Strangelove
Tom Hayden: His name is David Kilcullen, an Australian academic and military veteran, who seeks to impose a mad science of counterinsurgency on Iraq.
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Let the Resurrection Begin
Tom Hayden: Hillary Clinton's moving speech cemented a place for herself and the feminist movement in the unfolding drama of the 2008 presidential election.
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Mixed Blessing
Tom Hayden: Obama calls for direct dialogue and new trade deals with Latin America, but continued counterinsurgency in Columbia, tensions with Venezuela.
In the front-page Times interview, the traditionally hawkish Gordon asked Edwards whether his proposal would "pull the rug out" from the Iraqi security forces, and pointed out several times that Edwards's position is at odds with "senior American military commanders." However, Gordon failed to note that one such military leader, Gen. James Jones, while supporting more training of the Iraqi security forces, has reported that those forces are sectarian and dysfunctional and even called for "scrapping" the national police force now conducting counterinsurgency under the command of General David Petraeus.
Edwards' thinking seems to flow from his populist orientation: "I honestly believe this in my soul, we are propping up their bad behavior", he told Gordon, "I mean really, how many American lives and how much American taxpayer money are we going to continue to expend waiting for these [Iraqi] political leaders to do something?"
The political impact of Edwards's statement is unpredictable. It may sway some Bill Richardson or Dennis Kucinich voters to caucus instead for Edwards on Thursday night. It may cause a few defections from Clinton or Obama. It may play out in New Hampshire and later primaries, if Edwards is deemed "viable" by the media after Iowa. And to the extent that Edwards's campaign continues to be a force in the national election, his Iraq position could become a rallying point in the Democratic platform debate.
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